The Discovery
Much as the master first approaching a clean slab of marble, few understood the significance nor potential locked away within the iridescent hunk of purple ore as it was rent from it’s rocky prison. Initially dismissed as some petty gemstone, mankind’s earliest discovery of what would eventually become known as ‘plasma’ hinged on the careful circumstances that delivered the anomalous crystal to the then fledgling corporation’s research division. The lives and equipment lost the day plasma’s volatility was inadvertently uncovered proved a brutal and debilitating blow to the already reeling corporation; but from the still smoldering ashes of the burnt out husk came something defining. As a phoenix reborn, a new sense of drive and purpose shifted the startup’s vision. At once, what was first but a bare bones excavation was overhauled into a full scale operation, the scant remaining lifeblood of the company poured into the venture in a bold and risky gambit orchestrated by the ravenous director of the shriveling organization. As if guided by unseen machinations of the divine, plot after plot of the mysterious crystal formation was unearthed, feeding into what is understood as the first plasma rush.
At first the strange new commodity was seen only for it’s services as fuel; underappreciated and unrealized in it’s wide spectrum of use, this industrious application swiftly lined the company’s coffers as vast quantities of the crystal was shipped off to meet humanity’s impossible energy demands. With economic ruin avoided, and ever more of the strange substance pulled from the planet with each passing day, once more was focus returned to exploration and discovery of the strange and fanciful crystal. Research resumed into the wonder ‘fuel’ as plentiful profits stimulated an equally extensive venture into the sciences.
Deemed fuel, it would appear that plasma was condemned to remain considered as such as the next breakthrough that followed further reflected the substance’s use as such. Beyond plasma’s sheer energy density as a combustible fuel, the generation of a steady electrical current when exposed to radiation prompted a revolutionary response to an ever growing energy demand with seemingly no answer. As news of the discovery far outpaced it’s availability, all eyes turned to the humble company and it’s miraculous find. Yet plasma’s short, and bloody history was only beginning.
A viral outbreak, seemingly unprovoked and unsourceable in it’s origin, swept through and indifferently snuffed out the life of every researcher once assigned to understanding plasma’s mystery. The great travesty of the epidemic gave rise to new fears, and new opportunities, as humanity came to the slow recognition of the ‘fuel’ for it’s greater capabilities. Mounting pressures, internal and otherwise, battered the company, shaking it to it’s core as panic dissolved the woefully under-prepared organization. Like hungry predators innumerous corporations followed suit after the failed venture’s surrendered claims, intoxicated by the infinite potential held within the fantastic crystal.
Unwilling, or perhaps, even unable to allow the evasive discovery slip beyond their reach, the shattered company’s director amassed what remnants of the organization still persisted; conglomerating and bringing into existence new life. In size, scope, and goal this new organization transcended it’s predecessor, setting sights on one thing alone: plasma. In that moment, a new entity, one of infamy and legend, was born. Nanotrasen.
Dawn of NT
Unified under a new banner and purpose the upstart corporation was far from shy in accepting it’s mantle as de facto leader in the budding industry. Despite the loss of their original claims the allure and promise behind the mind that presented to humanity the initial find was too great an opportunity for investors to pass on. Resources, support, and attention came in troves for Nanotrasen; each exploited to their maximum gain as the company set out on the paradoxical role as newest, and oldest involved within the plasma rush. Yet the questioned remained unaddressed by so many loomed ever on: would more be found, and when?
Relentlessly plundering rich caches of plasma, a growing, unspoken threat hung over the heads of so many: depletion. Eyes once more turned to the forebears of this volatile fuel, as a modern day Prometheus; and in response, Nanotrasen, and mankind as a whole, once more set their sights for the stars. Enabled by the rich power potential of plasma the rarity of FTL travel was employed in the ever critical task of sourcing new and untapped founts of plasma. To this end did Nanotrasen’s fervent director once more gamble, pouring the entirety of the company into the risky, if understandably necessary undertaking.
Fortune favors the bold, but in the case for Nanotrasen’s repeat discovery this favor did not come forth without strenuous and nigh on herculean effort. An additional source of plasma was located, but not before the company was once more driven to the cusp. Unlike the ‘failures’ of the past, this discovery was swiftly snuffed out; isolated from all but the upper echelon of the company. It was then a careful plan was orchestrated, Nanotrasen, and it’s renowned status, drifted into obscurity.
Swathed within the veil of deep space did Nanotrasen first embrace fully the realities of the ‘fuel’ so earnestly sought after by an energy starved humanity. The widespread application and research of plasma in nigh on every faucet of modern sciences propelling a feverish new age of understanding and advancement. From medicinal to physical sciences and beyond, the integration of plasma was met with amazing results. But perhaps the most profound of these discoveries was plasma’s interaction with the genetic makeup of those exposed to the unstable compound. From forcing ‘simple’ mutations against virion samples, to enabling the complete mapping and swift restructuring existing genetic structures within complex multi-cellular organisms. Within the shade of space a bold new field of science was embraced, the birth of modern Genetics gifting upon humanity existence free from genetic disorder, the opportunity to ‘correct’ that which nature had so cruelly mistaken. What more, the ‘hybridization’ of man was first experienced, combining the greater capabilities of two into a gestalt entity beyond the scope of any being prior. Functional immortality was first within the grasp of humankind; cloning bringing back from the brink what previous medicine would abandon as a lost cause.
As the secret laboratories of Nanotrasen worked tirelessly to forge a new destiny amid the stars, the worlds they have abandoned slowly crumbled. Rendered all but dry from the relentless excavation that now scarred the planet’s surface, the original site of plasma’s discovery was a breeding ground for inter corporation squabbles as the last precious drips of plasma were protected with never before seen zeal. With prices for the rare commodity soaring to astronomical rates Nanotrasen’s director found fit to return to the world left behind. Walking amidst his ‘fellow’ man the director presented himself no longer a human, but a product of his own discovery; a god drunk on his own creation as the announcement was made. Nanotrasen had plasma, there was more to find, and they would be finding it. At once would Nanotrasen be recognized as the superpower it was; but more importantly was the fact of plasma’s proliferation through the universe, giving rise to the second plasma rush as endless capitalists sought to emulate Nanotrasen’s sleeper success.
Space Station 13
Spurred on into the depths of endless space did mankind propel themselves in the hopes of achieving dreams of riches and power previously unrecognizable by the wildest fantasies of their ancestors. Always at the bleeding edge of the ‘race’ was Nanotrasen, their secure hold upon the twin industries of plasma manufacturing and plasma research uncontested even by their ‘closest’ rivals. Ever pushed on by greed and lust for the unknown was man propelled through the galaxy in hunt for ever elusive planets seeded with plasma. Yet in the reckless charge into the perilous unknown was the question of mankind’s solitude in the galaxy ever considered. That is until the answers was irrecoverably addressed in the form of first contact.
Tense, is perhaps the kindest word that still accurately reflects mankind’s introduction to inter-species affairs. Advancement ground to a stand still as the gravity and reality of the situation resonated within all existence. Neither species whole trusting nor welcome of their ‘alien’ discovery, mounting tensions threatening to escalate ‘peaceful’ interactions to the brink of conflict. It was not until the interjection of Nanotrasen as negotiator that tensions were alleviated. In an appeal of similarities in the face of their differences the same self generic altering technologies gifted through plasma united the two as diplomats willfully surrendered humanity time and again in a desperate bid to preserve deteriorating relations.
The strange practice proved effective, and swiftly did Nanotrasen adopt the role of diplomatic entity among the crowded stars they now shared. Giving merit to the concept of ‘transhumanism’ as a whole, the understanding of the practice shifted sights from the acts of the depraved and eccentric, to a necessary, if at times extreme, method of preserving a unified existence among the inhabitants of the stars and beyond. In a bid to further conjoin the races, a bold series of interracial research stations under the banner of Nanotrasence was proposed, a place for members of each race and all others beyond to work in conjunction with one another as equals. The stunt as proposed by Nanotrasen was complex, costly, and decentralized their control; yet assured the organization first dibs on all technology and research conducted in part by either race.
Meticulously planned and put into effect the initial handful of Nanotrasen’s deep space research facilities found quick, if uncanny success. Yet beyond the opening whirlwind sprint of the exciting inter species collaboration, there existed unseen actors in the background, bent on the disruption of Nanotrasen and their efforts. First and foremost amoung these threats exists the organization only known as the ‘Syndicate’, a mysterious shadow company forged from the disgruntled conglomerate of rivals long spurned by Nanotrasen’s near monopoly on plasma and it’s derivatives. Equally disruptive, if not more blatantly more aberrant where the disciples of Nar’Sie and Ratvar; hellbent on unchecked evangelism and the destruction of their rivals, finding the isolated facilities of Nanotrasen as remarkable battle grounds. Further angered by the wanton consumption, the equally foreign entity known as the ‘Wizard Federation’ has proven an elusive adversary to Nanotrasen interests. Yet none compare to the schemes of Nanotrasen against their own.
Drunk beyond reason by the insatiable desire for knowledge, the multi-faceted organization, Nanotrasen pushes ever envelope within their scope in their pursuit of the unknown. Space Station 13, colloquially known as ‘Citadel Station’, is no better example of Nanotrasen’s warping view of ‘research’. Far and away the most racially diverse station within Nanotrasen’s sizable fleet, Citadel better represents the classic ‘melting pot’ of the known universe with employees of all races, and between, taking up employment aboard the storied station.
However, when this diversity is taken beyond it’s face value, and it’s ‘crew culture’ understood, a more sinister realization is made. While wholly staffed and functional as a research vessel, no small number of tweaks are made to segregate the diversified station from it’s counterparts. A strong emphasis is placed within crew encounters of the sexual nature, with almost subliminal advertisements throughout the otherwise ‘standard’ station enabling and encouraging such. A laxer enforcement of corporate regulations concerning such affairs are found, where previous iterations of similar stations’ manifesto forbade such interactions. The abundance of perverse, otherwise ‘stimulating’ paraphernalia often finds distribution through the station, up to and including the allotment of previously unheard of chemical synthesization cor crocin and other chemical derivatives. Citadel Station serves as Nanotrasen’s foremost experimentation into a ‘living’ genetic petri dish; yet to what ends, remains unfounded.
NSB Adephagia
Time hones the expertise of any master willing to submit to the rigors of practice, to learn from the sting of defeat, and the wisdom to change. Nanotrasen is no different in this fact. Catapulted into galactic fame by their nigh omnipresent presence in plasma and all industries born of the compound’s discovery, Nanotrasen enjoyed a lavish existence fueled not only by impressive industrial prosperity and unprecedented success in research, but also in their endeavors as ‘unifies’ as space faring explorers and diplomats. By the time Virgo was discovered to host an atmosphere primarily composed of phoron, the procedure of land claims, station colony construction, and integration into the system as a whole was standard practice.
Reflecting the comfortable position held by Nanotrasen as industry leaders, the once insatiable appetite of the industry in their ravenous consumption of the iridescent crystal had grown lax. In contrast to their previous policy of total domination over all phoron seeded celestial bodies, a ‘shared’ approach was offered. Split across the cohabiting industry and science organizations that now dot the known universe, Nanotrasen has grown content in instead receiving tariffs and taxation from their ‘competitors’, leasing wide swaths of land and signing away mineral rights in exchange for the ability to focus security and concentrate mining and exploration efforts within a more narrow field.
This practice has also morphed the ‘hostile’ presence of outside actors amidst Nanotrasen’s facilities. Lost are the open conflicts hosted between megacorperations in favor for a cold war style arms race, where defense and security of one’s assigned plot outweighs the crucial need to amass forces to cripple otherwise stifling competition. Despite this uneasy peace that is shared among the companies agitated flare ups are not entirely uncommon, third party mercenaries utilized to protest outrageous terms, or probe defenses for weakness between the impressive boundaries and ‘no man’s land’ that segregate the companies and their land claims.
While little has changed for Nanotrasen nor their original goal of plasma research and acquisition, there looms a new ‘threat’ on the horizon, and whispers of change are heard in the air. Perhaps the most drastic of these shifts in dynamic is the ‘discovery’ of Kitsuhana Heavy Industries. In reality, it was the enigmatic actors of Kitsuhana that had reached out to Nanotrasen; a frightening first amidst their storied history of inter-species contact. Unlike all before, the sheer technology and understanding of Kitsuhana was displayed, and made readily known to be beyond even the behemoth that is Nanotrasen. While benevolent in the majority of their interactions, Kitsuhana remained wholly uninterested in playing their part in further submitting to the knowledge hungry whims of Nanotrasen, instead teasingly offering space ‘lesser’ artifacts of their society, gifting them to the denizens of the Adephagia. Despite their non-hostile nature, Kitsuhana Heavy Industries’ unwillingness to submit to Nanotrasen’s demands for the enigmatic society to unveil their secrets proved a sore spot between the organizations, and continue to taint their chilly inter-dealings.